The original 3-D

I can't say that I am an art connoisseur; I don't know the difference between Rennaisance and Neoclassical, and I certainly don't know my artists. But I really enjoy art, and have a really simple definition for it: it has to make me FEEL something. That's it! That's why portrait paintings are among the bottom of the rung for me in terms of enjoyment; as much technical prowess they may contain, I am always somewhat bored with them. That is also why, when asked, 'are video games art?', my answer is a resounding 'yes!'.

But I digress. Today I went to the Rodin Museum in Paris, and discovered a new interest in sculpture. My favorite sculptures have always been more of the abstract type, and never of the human form. But even though sculptures of people are essentially portraits in 3-D, they really impressed me with their texture and context. Cast in bronze or carved in marble, many of the sculptures featured flowing limbs and rippling muscles. Shadows fell onto different places as I circled around, revealing different expressions or changing the way you think the body is posed. Before today, I never realized just how much emotion the face of a sculpture could portray, or how much tension its body could give off. I also really liked Rodin's seeming fascination with hands; they are such jointy-knobbly-constantly-moving things that I loved how he captured it into one still moment. Here are some of my favorite pieces (not all are Rodin), with the titles translated into English.

The Three Muses

Hand of the Devil

Misery

The Age of Maturity

The Cathedral

Ever popular: The Thinker

The Gates of Hell

Close-up detail of the above

The Gates of Hell was far and away my favorite piece of the day. Standing almost 20 feet high, I wanted to stand in front of it for an hour to notice all the details. I immediately thought of Dante's Inferno as soon as I saw it; and my Google search tonight does confirm that this is based off of the Divine Comedy. 

The museum is surrounded by a beautiful and peaceful garden; one of my happy finds about France is that they seem to encourage people to sit and relax. There were some beautiful roses blooming as well; nature's artwork. :)